Scale pattern and route conversion marker

ABSTRACT

A marking apparatus is illustrated herein which discloses a body with a marking roller exposed at one end thereof. An applicator applies a marking substance such as ink to printing embossments on a circumferential surface of the roller when the roller is rotated or is rolled on a surface. The printing embossments are arranged in a pattern or patterns, and the pattern or patterns of the embossments are transferred or printed on the surface upon which the roller is rolled to mark a path or route on the surface as well as to transfer the pattern of embossments from the roller to the surface.

United States Patent Kolody 5] Mar. 7, 1972 [54] SCALE PATTERN AND ROUTE CONVERSION MARKER [211 Appl. No.: 796,383

I [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS George & Millington 101/5 766,635 8/1904 Luitwieler ..101/1 10 Primary Examiner-William B. Penn Attorney-Evan D. Roberts [57] ABSTRACT A marking apparatus is illustrated herein which discloses a body with a marking roller exposed at one end thereof. An applicator applies a marking substance such as ink to printing embossments on a circumferential surface of the roller when the roller is rotated or is rolled on a surface. The printing embossments are arranged in a pattern or patterns, and the pattern or patterns of the embossments are transferred or printed on the surface upon which the roller is rolled to mark a path or route on the surface as well as to transfer the pattern of embossrnents from the roller to the surface.

1 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PAIENTEnn/m 7 I972 13. 646,885

FIGS INVENTOR STANLEY J. KOLODY MQMZ) ATTORNEY I 1' 'l '1 l' l' 1' "I W SCALE PATTERN AND ROUTE CONVERSION MARKER SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a marking device which will mark a route or path on a surface by transferring one or more patterns such as a mileage, temperature or other scale to that surface from the roller. Although there are markers presently known which will provide simple lines or which will dispense paint or the like on a surface, the objects of this invention are: to provide a marking device which will mark a scale or other incremental designations along a desired path; to mark a path on a surface; to simultaneously mark multiple scales on the same path or route to facilitate measurement of the marked path and visual conversion or comparison between the multiple scales or patterns; to provide a marking roller having interchangeable components to facilitate the simultaneous provision of various selected scales for marking as required by the user; and to provide a ready means for rotatably mounting the rollers in the body of the marker.

Other objects, advantages and novel aspects of the invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front plan view of a general representation of the first embodiment of the marking device of this invention with the marking roller thereof in engagement with the surface to be marked;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the first embodiment of the marking device of this invention showing the angle and general relationship of the device with respect to the surface to be marked;

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 showing relationship of the marking and inking rollers;

FIG. 4 is a partial side view illustrating a slot for retaining the shafts upon which the rollers are rotatably mounted;

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view taken along line 5-5 OF FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a partial view of a second embodiment of the marking device of this invention showing a multiple section marking roller;

FIG. 7 illustrates a dual set of scale markings provided by the device illustrated in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 illustrates a single scale marking provided by the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 9 is a partial side view of the second embodiment of this invention.

A general representation of the first embodiment of the marking device of this invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1-5 and is generally represented by the numeral 10. The marking device 10 includes generally a body 1 1, a roller support means 12 extending from the body 11, a marking roller means 13 rotatably secured on a shaft 14 of the roller support means 12, printing or marking embossments 15 on the surface of the marking roller 13, and porous inking roller means 16 impregnated with ink or other marking substance and rotatably secured on a shaft 17 for applying the marking substance to the roller embossments 15.

The roller support means 12 includes a pair of spaced-apart projections with the shafts 14 and 17 extending therebetween. When the roller 13 is rolled on a surface 18, the inking roller 16 will apply ink to embossments 15 which in turn will apply the ink to the surface to transfer the pattern or scale of the embossments 15 to the surface 18 along a route or path determined by the route or path along which the roller 13 is moved on the surface 18. The preferred embodiment of this invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-5 is provided with a slot 21 through each projection 20 to detachably retain the shafts 14 and 17. The slots 21 have a narrow inner portion 22, a wide outer portion 23, an enlarged circular shaft-retaining portion 24 to receive and retain the shaft 17, and larger circular shaft retaining portions to receive and retain the shaft 14.

The ends of shafts I4 and 17 are respectively inserted in the slots 21 of the projections 20 by first placing the rollers 13 and 16 on the shafts 14 and 17 respectively, and by placing spacing washers 26 on the shafts l4 and 17 adjacent the ends of the rollers 13 and 16. Shaft 17 is then installed by forcing the shaft 17 along the portions 23 and 22 of the slots 21 until the shaft 17 seats in the enlarged shaft-retaining circular portions 24 of the slots 21. The shaft 14 with the roller 13 and spacing washers 26 are then installed by forcing the respective ends of the shafts 14 along the wider slot portions 23 until the shaft 14 engages the shaft-retaining portion 25 in the enlarged portion 23 of the slot 21 (FIG. 4).

Inasmuch as the slot portions 22 and 23 and the shaftretaining portions 24 and 25 are respectively smaller than the shafts l7 and 14, the shafts l7 and 14 will be retained by the friction of the adjacent surfaces 24 and 25 of the slots 21. It should be noted that the shafts l4 and 17 may be removed from the roller-supporting means 20 by merely forcing the shafts l4 and 17 outwardly in the groove 21 against the friction of the surfaces 23 and 22 of the slot 21. This provides a means for changing the rollers 13 or 16 to provide a different marking pattern or to replace the marking substance respectively.

The pattern of embossments 15 in the circumferential surface of the roller 13 will be provided with ink or other marking substance from the roller 16 as the roller 13 is rolled on a surface (FIGS. 1-2). The roller 13 will thereby provide a scale pattern or route 15a as generally illustrated in FIG. 8. Thus, the structure 10 illustrated in FIGS. 1-5 could be utilized to mark a route on a map or the like by applying a pattern, such as the pattern illustrated in FIG. 8, to a chosen route on the map or the like by rolling the roller-marking wheel 13 over the chosen route. The pattern 15a would also apply a scale to the route as well as marking the route and thereby provide a scale indication of the miles covered by the route in addition to an easily noted route. In the particular pattern 15a shown (FIG. 8), each circumference distance of the roller wheel 13 provides a predetermined number of miles or other measurement 27 and increments 28 thereof from a roller 13 preselected to have a peripheral scale equal to the scale of the map or the like as desired.

The second embodiment of the marking device of this invention is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 9 and is generally represented by the numeral 30. The marking device 30 includes generally a body 31, a roller support means 32 extending from the body 31, marking embossments 34 on the circumferential surface of the marking roller 33, and a roller-inking means 35 of resilient porous material impregnated with marking substance such as ink and in sliding engagement with the embossments 34 of the roller 13 to apply the ink to the roller embossments 34. The ink-applying material 35 is held into inking engagement with the embossments 34 by a spring 36 mounted in a cavity 37 in the body 31 and in compressive engagement with the inking material 35.

The roller support means 32 (FIGS. 6 and 9) includes a pair of spacedapart projections 38 with a shaft 39 extending therebetween. In particular, the shaft 39 is provided with threads 40 on one end and a screwhead 41 on the other end whereby the shaft 39 is adapted to be inserted through an aperture 42 in the right projection 38 (FIG. 6) and is threadably retained in a threaded aperture 42 in the adjacent portion of the left projection 38. The roller is rotatably mounted on the shaft 39 through a roller aperture 43 between the projections.

The second embodiment 30 of the invention (FIGS. 6 and 9) illustrates that aspect of the invention whereby the marking roller 33 comprises multiple interchangeable segments or sections such as 45 and 46. The embossments 34 of the marking roller are represented by sets of embossments 47 and 48 on sections 45 and 46 respectively. Each set of embossments 47 and 48 represent a separate scale or marking patterns. When the marking roller or wheel 33 of this embodiment of the invention is rolled on a surface such as 18 (FIGS. 1 and 2), the ink-applying material 35 will apply ink to the printing embossments 47 and 48 on each of the sections 45 and 46 of the marking roller 33, and the marking roller 33 will provide a scale pattern 49 having dual scales or patterns 50 and 51 on the surface upon which the marking roller 33 is rolled (FIG. 7).

Segment 45 is provided with an aperture 52 and segment 46 is provided with a pin 53 adapted to engage the aperture 52 whereby the segments 45 and 46 are held against relative rotation therebetween. The common initial points of the patterns or scales 50 and 51 can thereby be positioned on a common line on the surface marked by roller 33. The patterns thus marked on the surface 18 by the roller 33 will provide an indication of the path or route of the roller 33 over the surface 18 as well as a ready means for visual conversion between the patterns or scales 50 and 51 of the two or more segments 45 and 46 of the marking roller 33.

Thus, by selecting the appropriate roller segments 45 and 46 to be utilized in this embodiment of the invention, the operator thereof can provide a predetermined pair of scales 50 and 51 (FIG. 7) to be marked along a given route or path, whereby the operator can readily visually convert or compare one scale or pattern to the other along paths marked by the multiple roller wheels 45 and 46. Particularly, inasmuch as the roller wheels 45 and 46 can be relatively indexed to each other by the pin 53 and aperture 52 to provide a common initial point for each of the respective scales or patterns thereof, the printed patterns or scales made thereby can be designed to have any desired common or initial reference point therebetween.

It should be noted that the present invention provides a scale pattern and route conversion marking apparatus which will make a scale or other incremental designations along a desired path and which can simultaneously mark multiple scales or patterns on the same path or route to facilitate measurements of the mark and/or to facilitate ready visual conversion or comparison between the multiple scales so marked. Also, the present invention provides a scale pattern and route conversion marking apparatus wherein the rollers are interchangeable to facilitate the provision of various scales for simultaneous marking and conversion as required by the user and to provide a ready means for rotatably and detachably mounting the rollers of the apparatus in the body thereof.

It is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific constructions and arrangements shown and described, as it will be understood to those skilled in the art that certain changes may be made without departing from the principles of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A scale pattern and route conversion marker for marking plain or irregular surfaces comprising a body having a roller support means extending therefrom, roller means rotatably secured to said roller support means with a portion of the circumference of said roller means exposed beyond said roller support means, said roller means having multiple adjacent wheel means having the same diameter and respectively different and adjacent embossment scale patterns on the circumferentially exposed surface thereof, said respective embossment patterns each comprising a set of embossments defining respectively different scales with an axially extending initial point embossment one said wheel means in axial alignment with an initial point embossment of said other scale on another of said wheel means with said respective scale embossments positioned in adjacent circumferential relation, means retaining the said wheel means in fixed relation for conjoint rotation whereby the scales marked by said wheel means on the surface will all have a common initial point to provide a reference means for visual comparison between said scales over said plain or irregular surface, and means for applying marking substance to said embossments as said roller means is rotated whereby said roller will make a pattern mark on a surface representing the pattern of said embossments when said roller means is rolled on said surface. 

1. A scale pattern and route conversion marker for marking plain or irregular surfaces comprising a body having a roller support means extending therefrom, roller means rotatably secured to said roller support means with a portion of the circumference of said roller means exposed beyond said roller support means, said roller means having multiple adjacent wheel means having the same diameter and respectively different and adjacent embossment scale patterns on the circumferentially exposed surface thereof, said respective embossment patterns each comprising a set of embossments defining respectively different scales with an axially extending initial point embossment one said wheel means in axial alignment with an initial point embossment of said other scale on another of said wheel means with said respective scale embossments positioned in adjacent circumferential relation, means retaining the said wheel means in fixed relation for conjoint rotation whereby the scales marked by said wheel means on the surface will all have a common initial point to provide a reference means for visual comparison between said scales over said plain or irregular surface, and means for applying marking substance to said embossments as said roller means is rotated whereby said roller will make a pattern mark on a surface representing the pattern of said embossments when said roller means is rolled on said surface. 